Killer Means Awesome

The invention of dynamite in 1867 transformed industry, mining, railroad building, and modern warfare. It also led to the creation of the Nobel Prizes. For the full story of the brilliant, moody Swede...

15 Apr 202453min

For thousands of years people all over the world have chewed gum or gum-like substances. Still, the invention of the modern chewing gum industry took place in the United States in the 1800s, and while...

26 Feb 20241h 7min

The magical sound of slide guitar is a modern invention. Though long associated with American blues music, the location of its earliest pioneers may surprise you! Tune into Killer Means Awesome to fin...

12 Feb 202448min

Diminutive in stature but a giant in the world of inventions, the brilliant Grace Hopper talked her way into the Navy after Pearl Harbor and went on to become arguably the most pivotal innovator at th...

30 Jan 20241h 2min

From its earliest, primitive versions in the 1940s to the powerful, high-tech devices of today, the fabled 'black box' on airplanes has captured both the public imagination and the careful attention o...

12 Des 202354min

In 1856 William Henry Perkin was an 18 year old college student on spring break when he accidentally invented a method for creating synthetic purple dye, a storied color which also happened to be the ...

4 Des 202357min

The Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann was the first person to synthesize LSD in 1938. From an accidental LSD trip to today’s worldwide renaissance in government-sanctioned research, perhaps no psychedelic...

9 Nov 202348min

Introducing the newly branded Killer Means Awesome podcast and Season #3: Killer Inventions! Listen to the first two seasons of Killer Means Awesome to hear more incredible true stories. Season one ...

2 Nov 20233min